Three separate lawsuits claim that a little league coach sexually assaulted children in Staten Island, N.Y., in the 1970s.

The lawsuits were filed under the Child Victims Act, a recently enacted New York law that gives sexual child abuse survivors a longer amount of time to file lawsuits against their alleged abusers. The Staten Island little league sexual assault lawsuit is one of what USA Today reported is hundreds of lawsuits filed under the Child Victims Act after it went into effect in August.

The Staten Island baseball sexual assault lawsuits began when plaintiff James M. saw the newly enacted Child Victims Act as an opportunity to seek justice for abuse that had allegedly occurred in the 1970s, when he was just 13 years old.

James claims that his little league coach, Tony Sagona, abused him when he was a child. He reports that he did not say anything at the time and has not filed a lawsuit against his coach before now. However, once the Child Victims Act opened a one-year lookback window for sexual child abuse survivors to file abuse lawsuits no matter when the abuse occurred, he took the opportunity. CNN describes the look-back window, and how it provides sexual child abuse survivors a chance to seek justice.

According to James, he located his old teammates and asked if any of them had been abused by the coach. Allegedly, Bruce M. and Tim M. responded quickly, saying that they had had similar experiences. Unfortunately, the abuse did not end with them. Over time, a total of seven baseball players reported that they had been abused by Sagona, reports NBC News.

James, Bruce, and Tim reportedly filed three separate lawsuits against Sagona over his alleged abuse. They also brought claims forward against their old baseball league, Great Kills Baseball League and other parties. The men claimed that the league did not do enough to prevent the abuse they suffered, and did not respond appropriately to it.

In pursuing legal action, James and the other men discovered that Sagona was not retired, says NBC. The men claimed that recently, he was coaching basketball in New Jersey, with the Amateur Athletic Union. However, a representative from the AAU says that Sagona is not coaching with the organization, reports NBC.

James, Bruce, and Tim are filing lawsuits not primarily for financial benefit, they say. Their main goal is to protect abuse from happening to other children under Sagona’s instruction, and to give themselves closure after almost fifty years of processing their abuse and in many cases, keeping their abuse a secret.

For his part, Bruce says that he was coached by Sagona at St. Patrick’s Elementary School in Staten Island. NBC explains that the school is part of the Roman Catholic Church. Allegedly, abuse occurred during this time, and neither the school nor the Archdiocese of New York did enough to stop it.

In addition to the three Staten Island little league sexual assault lawsuit, another person has filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Sagona. Edward P. Says he also is a sexual child abuse survivor, claiming that Sagona abused him beginning in 1978. Allegedly, Tony gave him drugs and alcohol to “help escalate the sexual abuse.”

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.